Johannesburg /
South African authorities will suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in their immunization program against COVID-19 after a report showed that it offers limited protection against mild to moderate infections caused by the most common variant of coronavirus in the country.
Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize, said the government will wait for the advice of scientists on the best way to proceed, after the disappointing results of a trial conducted by University of the Witwatersrand.
The government intended to distribute the vaccine AstraZeneca health workers soon after receiving a million doses produced by the Indian Serum Institute on Monday. The pharmacist himself said he would reformulate his vaccine.
Instead, it will provide vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer in the coming weeks, as experts discuss how the AstraZeneca vaccine could be distributed.
“What does this mean for our vaccination program that we said would start in February? The answer is that it will continue,” Mkhize told an online news conference.
“Starting next week, for the next four weeks, we expect Johnson & Johnson vaccines, there will be Pfizer vaccines. So what will be available to health care workers will be those vaccines. The AstraZeneca vaccine will stay with us … until the scientists give us clear instructions on what to do, “he added.
dmr